I Love Summer

I love the summer.

Technically we are still in spring. It is, after all, just the middle of May. But I live in the high desert. The outside temperature is supposed to reach 88 degrees F today The humidity is 18 percent. The sky is a brilliant blue with some scattered clouds. So despite what the calendar says, it sure feels like summer.

I love feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin when I go outside. There is something so life-giving, so energizing, about being in the sun. Long gone are the days of my youth when I would cover myself with baby oil or with dark-tanning oil "for a deep, dark tan." Now I wear a hat and sunglasses when I'm outside. I wear sunscreen if I will be outside for more than a few minutes. But I always will love the sun.

I also love the light that fills my house on a sunny day. That's one of the things that prompted to me to buy the house in which I have lived for the past 10 years. This house has lots of big windows and five skylights, so it is a cheerful, light-filled house. And New Mexico has 300 sunny days a year, which is great for my morale.

I like waking up early on a summer's day, when it is light enough to safely walk my dogs before 6:30 a.m. (There are coyotes in the area, and I want to be able to see them). The air is fresh and cool, the winds calm, and few people are out and about. And the pavement is cool so it won't burn my dogs' feet. 

I remember visiting my grandparents when I was a youngster. They lived just outside a very small town in southern Illinois. Their house was heated by a coal-burning stove during the winter, and it didn't do a very good job of keeping the house warm. There was no air conditioning, not even a window unit. That meant that sleeping on those hot, muggy nights was a challenge. I remember sitting with the adults in the shade of a large, leafy tree in the back yard when the weather made it impossible to run and play with my brother and cousins, who lived just down the hill.

One of the best things about summer is the abundance of fruit: fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, watermelon, and my favorite of all, peaches. There is nothing better than a fresh, ripe, juicy peach. I have two peach trees in my yard, one of which produced an abundance of wonderful fruit last summer.

Summer exercise is so much more pleasant than winter exercise. Throw on a pair of shorts, a pair of walking shoes, a hat and a short-sleeve shirt, and I'm good to go. Winter exercise requires a hat, gloves, scarf, sweater or sweatshirt, heavy coat and sometimes, winter boots. What fund is that? I feel like the Pillsbury Dough Boy by the time I finish dressing to go for a winter walk.

I love living in the high desert. It can get hot (100 degrees or so), but the humidity is typically low (I have seen it as low as 5 percent). The high altitude, lack of pollution and low humidity make for some amazing clear blue skies.

So come on, summer!